Provision of additional content to mobile communication devices

ABSTRACT

A system and method for the insertion of additional content to messages sent between mobile communications devices. The system provides for a point system which allows users of the system to accumulate points for additional content sent with text messages. The points may be used for various functions such as purchasing premium services or may be applied towards the user&#39;s service charges.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/035,654, filed Mar. 11, 2008, the disclosure of whichis incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to communications between mobilecommunications device and more particularly to text messaging betweenmobile communications devices.

Individuals remote in location from one another have steadily increasingways to communicate, often without regard to where those individuals maybe. Personal communication devices such as cellular capable telephones,often with sophisticated displays and imaging devices, allow individualsto communicate via voice communications or by non-voice means.

Unfortunately, such communications may be expensive to provide, whetherin message transfer costs to individuals, cost of communication devices,or otherwise. For example, usage of text based communications over acellular network may cause a user to bear significant costs.

In addition, such communications, for example textual communications,may not fully utilize capabilities of communication devices, or ofcommunications systems of which the communications devices form a part.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, the invention provides a method for usein providing additional content to a mobile communication device,comprising: receiving a text message, the text message having beengenerated by a user of a first mobile communication device inputtingtext information into a first mobile communications device; selecting anitem of additional content out of a plurality of items of additionalcontent; appending the selected item of additional content to the textmessage; and transmitting the text message and the appended selecteditem of additional content to a second mobile communication device fordisplay on the second mobile communication device.

In another aspect of the invention, the invention provides a system fortransmitting textual information including additional content,comprising: a keypad for entering text information; a processorconfigured to store information the text information, configured toappend additional content including at least additional text to the textinformation, and configured to command transmission of the textinformation and additional content to a second mobile communicationdevice; and communication circuitry to transmit the text information andadditional content to the second mobile communication device.

In another aspect of the invention, the invention provides a system fortransmitting textual information including additional content,comprising: a message service router for routing text information in acellular communications network; and an additional content server datacoupled to the message service router, the additional content serverconfigured to receive at least an indication of a sender of a textmessage and configured to provide the message service router at least anitem of additional content based on at least the indication of a senderof the text message.

These and other aspects of the invention are more fully comprehendedupon review of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a mobile communications devicecommunication system in accordance aspects of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a mobile communications device with areceived text message and additional content in accordance with aspectsof the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of additional content insertion by a mobilecommunications device in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a points system for additional content inaccordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of additional content insertion by a messageservice router in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of additional content insertion by a messageservice router in accordance with aspects of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an additional content selection process inaccordance with aspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is an example of a mobile communications device communicationssystem in accordance with aspects of the invention. The mobilecommunications device communications system includes a first mobilecommunications device 101, a first cell site 103, a message servicerouter 105, a second cell site 107, and a second mobile communicationsdevice 109. The first mobile communications device may communicate withthe second mobile communications device by way of the first cell site,the message service router, and the second cell site.

The first mobile communications device includes circuitry to connect tothe first cell site through a wireless connection 111. In someembodiments, the wireless connection may utilize a Global System forMobile communications (GSM) protocol, a Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA) protocol or a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) protocol. Inmany embodiments, the first mobile communications device and the secondmobile communications device are cell phones.

The first and second cell sites generally includes a tower or otherelevated structure for mounting antennas, and one or more sets oftransmitter/receivers transceivers, digital signal processors, andcontrol electronics. The cell sites may also include a GPS receiver fortiming and backup electrical power sources. In operation, informationfrom the first mobile communications device is provided to a secondcommunications device by way of the first cell site, the message servicerouter and the second cell site. In addition, in various embodiments,the cell site may not directly communicate with a mobile communicationsdevice, with, instead, communications with the mobile communicationsdevice being by way of a repeater interposed in a communication pathbetween the cell site and the mobile communications device.

In some embodiments, the information from the first mobilecommunications device includes text information generated by a user ofthe first mobile communications device, and also includes additionalcontent. The additional content may be, for example, advertisementcontent stored on the first mobile communications device or downloadedto the device prior to transmission of the text information. In otherembodiments, the additional content may be assembled with the textinformation at a point or points in a communications path between thefirst mobile communications device and the second mobile communicationsdevice.

FIG. 2 is an example of a mobile communications device and a message 203in accordance with aspects of the invention. The mobile communicationsdevice generally includes a housing 201 which houses communication andrelated circuitry. In some embodiments, and as illustrated in FIG. 2,the housing includes a keypad 207 for entering information, and adisplay 203 for displaying information. In some embodiments, the housingmay include a touchscreen, which combines the input and display aspectsof the device. The display shows a received message 205. The messageincludes a message sent by another party, with the message type commonlyreferred to as a text message. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the messagestates: “Dinner is at 7:30.” Appended to the message is additionalcontent. The additional content in FIG. 2 is in the form of advertisingcontent, advertising a “Soda X” brand of soft drink. In addition, theadvertising content, which states: “Shirley loves to drink Soda X, sowill you,” includes a personalization feature, identifying the sender ofthe message, namely, Shirley, as endorsing the product advertised by theadvertising content.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of mobile communications device messagingsystem in accordance with aspects of the invention. In block 301, theprocess receives a text message input by a user into a mobilecommunications device. In many embodiments, the mobile communicationsdevice is a cell phone. In many embodiments, the text message, whentransmitted, conforms to the Short Message Service (SMS) communicationsstandard. In some embodiments, the text message comprises text only. Insome embodiments, the text message comprises pictures and/or graphics.In some embodiments, the text message comprises a combination of textand pictures and/or graphics. In many embodiments, the sender may inputa text message by using a keypad or a touchscreen of the mobilecommunications device. In some embodiments, the user may select from aplurality of standard and saved messages. For example, the user mayselect a previously saved message to from a list of saved messages.

In block 303, the process downloads additional content to the user'smobile communications device. For example in some embodiments, themobile communications device is configured to request additional contentfrom a service provider prior to sending a text message, and to receivethe additional content from the service provider. In some embodiments,however, the additional content is already resident in memory of themobile communications device. In many embodiments, the additionalcontent may be in the form of advertising content. In some embodiments,the additional content may be in the form of announcements or newsinformation. In some embodiments, the additional content comprises text.In some embodiments, the additional content comprises pictures and/orgraphics. In some embodiments, the additional content comprises acombination of text and pictures and/or graphics. In some embodiments,additional content or a plurality of additional content are downloadedto the user's mobile communications device upon the user entering a textmessage. In some embodiments, additional content may be downloaded tothe sender's mobile communications device at various times. For example,and in some embodiments, an item of additional content or a plurality ofitems of additional content may be downloaded to the user's mobilecommunications device upon powering on the mobile communications deviceand connecting to a communications network. In some embodiments, theitem of additional content or a plurality items of additional contentmay be downloaded to the user's phone at a time during which the user'sphone is not in use by the user. In some embodiments, an item ofadditional content or a plurality of items of additional content may bedownloaded to the sender's phone at scheduled intervals, for example,every 2 hours. In some embodiments, the user may configure the time andintervals at which additional content will be downloaded to the mobilecommunications device.

In block 305, the process inserts additional content into the user'stext message. In many embodiments, the additional content is inserted toa portion of the text message where the additional content does notobscure the user's message. For example, the additional content may beappended at the end of the message. In some embodiments, the additionalcontent may be plain text. In some embodiments the additional contentmay be animated text and/or graphics. For example, the additionalcontent may scroll along a bottom portion of the text message. In someembodiments, the sender may determine where the additional content isplaced. In some embodiments, the mobile communications deviceautomatically determines where the additional content is to be placed.For example, the mobile communications device may determine an optimalplacement for the additional content based on the number of charactersor size of a picture or graphic in the additional content.

In block 307, the process sends the text message from the user's mobilecommunications device with the additional content. In some embodiments,the user created text message and the attached additional content may besent in a single transmission. In some embodiments, the user createdmessage and additional content may be sent as separate transmissions.For example, the user created message may be sent first, followed by theadditional content.

In many embodiments and as discussed in FIG. 1, the text message is sentfrom the user's mobile communications device to a cell site. From thecell site, the message is sent to a message service router. In manyembodiments, the message service router is a Short Message ServiceCenter (SMSC). The message service router determines an appropriatedestination for the text message and transmits the text message to adestination mobile communication device through a cell site. In manyembodiments, the message service router will determine the status of adestination mobile communications device before sending the textmessage. If the message service router determines that the destinationmobile communications device is available, the message service routerwill immediately send the message to the destination mobilecommunications device through a cell site. However, if the messageservice router determines that the destination mobile communicationsdevice is unavailable, the message service router will store the textmessage in a database or queue and send the message when the destinationmobile communications device becomes available. In some embodiments, themessage service router may periodically check the status of thedestination mobile communications device until the destination mobilecommunications device becomes available. For example, the messageservice router may check the status of the destination mobilecommunications device every 10 minutes to determine if it has becomeavailable. In some embodiments, once the destination mobilecommunications device becomes, the destination mobile communicationsdevice will send a notification to the message service router notifyingit of its availability. When the message service router has determinedthat the destination mobile communications device has become available,the message service router will send the text message to the destinationmobile communications device through a cell site.

In block 309, the text message with additional content is received bythe destination mobile communications device. In many embodiments, whena mobile communications device receives a text message, device mayproduce an alert informing the user of the text message. For example,the mobile communications device may produce a sound effect or vibrate.As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the user views the received text message,the text message will include the user created message and theadditional content. In many embodiments, the additional content will beat the end of the text message, although in some embodiments, theadditional content may be placed at a location as determined by thesender. In many embodiments, the additional content may be in the formof a link and the user may click on the link to view additional detailscorresponding to the additional content. For example, the additionalcontent may be a link to an advertisement by Vendor A. The user mayclick the link to the advertisement and view additional details aboutthe advertisement. In some embodiments, for example in some embodimentswhere the mobile communications device has a capability to view Internetwebsites, the link may be a link to the advertiser's Internet website.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a points system for an additional contentservice in accordance with aspects of the invention. In block 401, amobile communications device user sends a message with an additionalcontent to another mobile communications device user. In someembodiments, the user created text message and the attached additionalcontent may be sent in a single transmission. In some embodiments, theuser created message and additional content may be sent as separatetransmissions. For example, the user created message may be sent first,followed by the additional content. In many embodiments and asillustrated in FIG. 1, the message will be sent through a cell site andto a message service router. In many embodiments, the message servicerouter will be a Short Message Service Center (SMSC). The messageservice router will determine the destination mobile communicationsdevice for the message.

In block 403, the message service router or other component, determinesa point value for additional content sent by a user. In manyembodiments, additional content may be in the form of advertisingcontent. In many embodiments, items of additional content may be worthvarying point values. The message service router has access to adatabase of additional content and associated point values. In someembodiments, point values for additional content may be related to thesize of the additional content. For example, an item of additionalcontent with a greater number of text characters may be assigned ahigher point value than an item of additional content with fewer textcharacters. In many embodiments, additional content which are deemed tobe of higher priority may be assigned a higher point value thanadditional content deemed to be of lower priority. For example, a vendormay seek to increase circulation of its advertisements and may pay acommunications service provider a premium price to assign a higher pointvalue to additional content corresponding to the vendor'sadvertisements. In some embodiments, and to facilitate circulation of avendor's advertisements, users of the additional content service may benotified of any advertisements that are assigned an increased pointvalue. Users seeking to earn more points may be more likely to selectadditional content of higher point values. In some embodiments, someadditional content may be assigned increased point values duringselected periods of time. For example, any additional content relatingto a selected television show may be assigned double the standard pointvalues during week leading up to television show and triple the standardpoint values on the day of the television show.

In block 405, the message service router or other component awardspoints to the user responsible for sending the additional content. Insome embodiments, points may also be awarded to the user receiving theadditional content. In many embodiments, the message service router hasaccess to a user database which stores user information, including thenumber of additional content points accumulated by a user. In someembodiments the message service router awards points after a destinationmobile communications device has received a text message with theadditional content. For example, if the destination mobilecommunications device is available and the message service router isable to send the text message with additional content to the destinationmobile communications device, the sending user is awarded points.However, if the destination mobile communications device is unavailable,points may not be awarded until the destination mobile communicationsdevice becomes available and the message service router is able toconfirm receipt of the text message with attached additional content.For example, if the destination mobile communications device is turnedoff, the message service router may not be able to send the text messagewith additional content. In some embodiments, the system awards pointsimmediately after the sender sends the text message with the additionalcontent, regardless of whether the destination mobile communicationsdevice is available.

In some embodiments, and in embodiments where the additional content maybe in the form on a link, the user may click the link to view additionaldetails about the additional content. In some embodiments, points may beawarded to the sender after the receiver has clicked the link and viewedthe additional details. In some embodiments, no points may be awarded tothe sender if the receiver does not click the link contained in theadditional content.

In many embodiments, the message service router or other component mayrecord the number of times a user has sent additional content to anotheruser in a database. In some embodiments and in order to encouragespreading additional content to many different users, the messageservice router may set a limit on the number points a user mayaccumulate by sending additional content to the same user within a giventime period. For example, a user may be limited to sending a maximum offive items of additional content to the same user within a 24 hourperiod. If a user has already sent five items of additional content tothe same user within a 24 hour period, the message service router maynot award points for any additional items of additional content sent tothe same user. In some embodiments, the message service router may awardpoints even after the user has reached the limit, however the messageservice router may reduce the number of points awarded by a scalarvalue. For example, the message service router may award one half of thefull value of the item of additional content once a user has reached themaximum limit. In some embodiments, a user may be limited in the numberof points they can accumulate by sending additional content to anysingle user within a given time period. For example, in someembodiments, a user may not earn more than 20 points per day by sendingany number of items of additional content to the same user.

In some embodiments, the message service router or other component mayrecord the number of times a user has sent a specific item of additionalcontent. In some embodiments, and in order to prevent a specific item ofadditional content from becoming overcirculated, the message servicerouter may set a limit to the number of points a user may accumulate bysending the same item of additional content. For example, a user may belimited to sending the same item of additional content to no more thanfive times within a 24 hour period. If the user has already sent thesame item of additional content five times within a 24 hour period, themessage service router may not award any additional points for anyfurther use of the same item of additional content for that 24 hourperiod.

In block 407, the user redeems accumulated points. In some embodiments,a user may be required to first reach a minimum number of points inorder to redeem any accumulated points. In some embodiments, a user mayredeem points immediately. In some embodiments, a user may redeem pointsin predetermined multiples. For example, a user may redeem points inmultiples of 10. In some embodiments, points may be used to purchasepremium services and features from the user's service provider. Forexample, points may be used to purchase ring tones and/or customwallpaper and graphics for use with the user's mobile communicationsdevice. In some embodiments, additional content points may be usedtowards payment of service provider charges. In some embodiments, theadditional content points may be exchanged for cash at a predeterminedexchange rate.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of additional content insertion by a messageservice router 501 in accordance with aspects of the invention. Amessage service router receives text messages 503 from mobilecommunications devices through cell sites. In many embodiments, the textmessage conforms to the Short Message Service (SMS) communicationsstandard. In some embodiments, the message service router may be a ShortMessage Service Center (SMSC).

The message service router determines a destination for each receivedtext message. The message service router also selects additional contentto append to each received message. The message service router selectsadditional content by querying an additional content server 507. Theadditional content server queries an additional content database 509. Insome embodiments, a user enrolled in an additional content service mayselect additional content that the user would like to use. For example,from a set of 26 items of additional content, Additional Content A toAdditional Content Z, User 1 may select Additional Content B. When themessage service router queries the additional content server foradditional content for User 1, the additional content server queries theadditional content database and returns Additional Content B to theadditional content server. The additional content server returns thesame to the message service router. In some embodiments, the user mayselect a plurality of additional content.

In many embodiments, the additional content may be in the form ofadvertising content. In many embodiments, each item of additionalcontent may be assigned a point value. The additional content serverprovides the message service router with the point value associated withthe additional content. The message service router awards the points tothe sender of the text message. In some embodiments, the awarded pointsmay be stored on the sender's mobile communications device. In otherembodiments, the awarded points may be stored in a user database. Themessage service router appends the additional content to the textmessage. The message service router sends the text message 505 to itsdestination through a cell site. In many embodiments, the destinationwill be a mobile communications device, for example a cell phone.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of additional content insertion by a messageservice router or other component in accordance with aspects of theinvention. In block 601, the process sends a text message from theuser's mobile communications device with the additional content. In manyembodiments, the mobile communications device is a cell phone. In manyembodiments, the text message, when transmitted, conforms to the ShortMessage Service (SMS) communications standard. In some embodiments, thetext message comprises text only. In some embodiments, the text messagecomprises pictures and/or graphics. In some embodiments, the textmessage comprises a combination of text and pictures and/or graphics. Inmany embodiments, the sender may input a text message by using a keypador a touchscreen of the mobile communications device.

In some embodiments, the user created text message and the attachedadditional content may be sent in a single transmission. In someembodiments, the user created message and additional content may be sentas separate transmissions. For example, the user created message may besent first, followed by the additional content. In many embodiments andas discussed in FIG. 1, the text message is sent from the user's mobilecommunications device to a cell site. From the cell site, the message issent to a message service router.

In block 603, the message service router or other component receives thetext message. In many embodiments, the message service router is a ShortMessage Service Center (SMSC). In many embodiments and as illustrated inFIG. 1, the message service router is connected to a plurality of cellsites. The user's mobile communications device sends a text message byconnecting to a cell site. The text message is sent through a cell siteand transmitted to the message service router. In some embodiments, themessage service router is a Short Message Service Center (SMSC).

In block 605, the process determines whether the text message containsadditional content. In some embodiments, additional content may havebeen added by a user. For example, additional content may have beendownloaded to the mobile communications device and sent with the textmessage as discussed in FIG. 3. In some embodiments, no additional mayhave been added and the text message In some embodiments, the additionalcontent comprises text only. In some embodiments, the additional contentcomprises pictures and/or graphics. In some embodiments, the additionalcontent comprises a combination of text and pictures and/or graphics. Inother embodiments, the user may have sent a text message which does notcontain additional content. If the text message does not containadditional content, the process proceeds to block 607. Otherwise, theprocess proceeds to block 609.

In block 607, the message service router or other component insertsadditional content to the text message. In many embodiments, theadditional content is inserted to a portion of the text message wherethe additional content does not obscure the user's message. For example,the additional content may be appended at the end of the message. Insome embodiments, the additional content may be plain text. In someembodiments the additional content may be animated text and/or graphics.For example, the additional content may scroll along a bottom portion ofthe text message. In some embodiments, the sender may determine wherethe additional content is placed. In some embodiments, the mobilecommunications device automatically determines where the additionalcontent is to be placed. For example, the mobile communications devicemay determine an optimal placement for the additional content based onthe number of characters or size of a picture or graphic in theadditional content.

In block 609, the message service router sends the text message withadditional content. In some embodiments, the user created text messageand the attached additional content may be sent in a singletransmission. In some embodiments, the user created text message andadditional content may be sent as separate transmissions. For example,the user created text message may be sent first, followed by theadditional content. In many embodiments and as illustrated in FIG. 1,the message will be sent from the message service router, through a cellsite to a destination mobile communications device.

In block 611, the text message with additional content is received bythe destination mobile communications device. In many embodiments, whena mobile communications device receives a text message, device mayproduce an alert informing the user of the text message. For example,the mobile communications device may produce a sound effect or vibrate.As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the user views the received text message,the text message will include the user created message and theadditional content. In many embodiments, the additional content will beat the end of the text message, although in some embodiments, theadditional content may be placed at a location as determined by thesender.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of additional content selection in accordancewith aspects of the invention. In block 701, the process selects aplurality of items of additional content from a set of items ofadditional content available to the user. The plurality of items ofadditional content may be referred to as the user's additional contentrotation. In many embodiments, additional content the process mayautomatically select items of additional content.

In some embodiments, the process may prompt a user who has enrolled inan additional content service to select a number of items of additionalcontent to be used with text messages. In some embodiments, items ofadditional content may be selected from the user's mobile communicationsdevice. In many embodiments, the mobile communications device may be inthe form of a cell phone. For example, a text message may be received bythe user's cell phone from the service provider prompting the selectiona number of items of additional content for use with text messages. Thetext message may have a list of items of additional content and the usermay select items of additional content by responding to the text messagewith selections.

In some embodiments, additional content may be selected through anInternet web server. For example, the service provider may provide anInternet web server which allows the user to log in and select items ofadditional content for use with the user's text messages.

In many embodiments, the selected items of additional content may bestored in a database or a database-like storage component. In someembodiments, the database or database-like storage component may be acomponent of the mobile communications device. In some embodiments, thedatabase or a database-like storage component may be a component of amessage service router. The database or a database-like storagecomponent may contain items of additional content or references to itemsof additional content and associations or references to users.

In block 703, the process inputs a message into a user's mobilecommunications device to be sent to another user's mobile communicationsdevice. In many embodiments, the text message, when transmitted,conforms to the Short Message Service (SMS) communications standard. Insome embodiments, the text message comprises text only. In someembodiments, the text message comprises pictures and/or graphics. Insome embodiments, the text message comprises a combination of text andpictures and/or graphics. In many embodiments, a keypad or touchscreenof the mobile communications device may be used to input a text message.In some embodiments, a plurality of standardized and saved text messagesmay be selected by the user, for example, a previously sent textmessage.

In block 705, an item of additional content is selected from the user'sadditional content rotation selected in block 701. In some embodiments,one item of additional content may be selected. In some embodiments, aplurality of items of additional content may be selected. In manyembodiments, the process may select an item or items of additionalcontent based on the content of the text message. The process may parsethe text message for preprogrammed phrases or words and selectadditional content based on the preprogrammed phrases or words. Forexample, the text message may contain the word “restaurant” and theprocess may select an item of additional content relating to food andrestaurants. For example the text message may contain the message:“Let's meet at the restaurant for dinner.” The process may select anitem of additional content relating to restaurants, for example anadvertisement by Restaurant A, stating: “Steve likes eating fast food atRestaurant A.” In some embodiments, the item or items of additionalcontent may be selected by the user. In some embodiments, the mobilecommunications device may select the item additional content. In someembodiments, the message service router may select the item ofadditional content.

In block 707, the item or items of additional content are inserted intoa text message. In many embodiments, the additional content is insertedto a portion of the text message where the additional content does notobscure the user's message. For example, the additional content may beappended at the end of the message. In some embodiments, the additionalcontent may be plain text. In some embodiments the additional contentmay be animated text and/or graphics. For example, the additionalcontent may scroll along a bottom portion of the text message. In someembodiments, the sender may determine where the additional content isplaced. In some embodiments, the mobile communications deviceautomatically determines where the additional content is to be placed.For example, the mobile communications device may determine an optimalplacement for the additional content based on the number of charactersor size of a picture or graphic in the additional content.

Accordingly, aspects of the invention provide additional content fortext messaging related systems and methods. Although the invention hasbeen discussed with respect to various embodiments, it should berecognized that the invention comprises the novel and non-obvious claimssupported by this disclosure.

1. A method for use in providing additional content to a mobilecommunication device, comprising: receiving a text message, the textmessage having been generated by a user of a first mobile communicationdevice inputting text information into a first mobile communicationsdevice; selecting an item of additional content out of a plurality ofitems of additional content; appending the selected item of additionalcontent to the text message; and transmitting the text message and theappended selected item of additional content to a second mobilecommunication device for display on the second mobile communicationdevice; wherein the first mobile communications device performsselection of the item of additional content out of a plurality of itemsof additional content.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The method of claim 1 whereinthe plurality of items of additional content are stored on the firstmobile communications device.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein aservice provider performs selection of the item of additional contentout of the plurality of items of additional content, and furthercomprising downloading, by the first mobile communications device, theplurality of items of additional content.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the text message and appended selected item ofadditional content are transmitted to the second mobile communicationsdevice by way of a cellular communication system.
 7. The method of claim1 further comprising associating a point value with the user of thefirst mobile communication device based on transmission of the textmessage and the appended selected item of additional content to thesecond mobile communication device.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein atleast some of the different items of the plurality items of additionalcontent have different associated point values.
 9. The method of claim 7wherein the point value has a monetary value.
 10. The method of claim 7wherein the point value is redeemable for goods or services. 11.-19.(canceled)